Karelys Beltran, 25, moved out when she was 18.

“I was feeling suffocated. It was a tiny house with two parents, two twin brothers, and myself, she says. ”I was trying really hard to walk the line of respecting them the Mexican way and growing in this new culture.”

While leaving the nest was not an easy decision for Beltran, she is part of a growing trend of Latinas claiming their independence. While Latino men are moving back home more than ever before, Latinas are more likely to live on their own.

According to a study by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) in 2007, before the recession, 12 percent of Latino men returned home. The figure has now grown to 21 percent. For Latinas the figure only increased from 9 to 11 percent.

“If you look at this over time from 2007 to present, there is a really big increase of Latino men living at home with their parents,” says PRB demographer Mark Mather.

One of the most significant factors attributed to this trend is education. While more Latinas are pursuing a higher education, and consequently earning higher incomes, many of their male peers are falling behind.

Read more at NBC Latino